The 2 Best (and 2 Worst) Sectors to Buy Now

2013's hottest and coldest stocks could be in for more of the same

It’s been a crazy run for many stocks in 2013, with laggards like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Best Buy (BBY) soaring back from the doldrums and innovative companies like Tesla Motors (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) disrupting their way to triple-digit gains.

But it hasn’t been fun for everyone — and when you look at the overall makeup of the market, it’s clear that there are some much bigger winners and much bigger losers despite the overall updraft since around Thanksgiving 2012.

You would think in this kind of “risk-on” environment where the market has been going like gangbusters, the winners would largely be in aggressive sectors like tech or financials. After all, these picks make up the big winners in the Dow Jones or the S&P 500.

But you’d be wrong — especially if you look at the broader Russell 3000 index, which covers six times the stocks that the S&P 500 benchmark does to offer a better snapshot of the market.

The 10 sectors of the Russell 3000 include consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, healthcare, industrials, materials, technology, telecom and utilities. And here are the biggest winners and losers, according to research from Bespoke Investment Group: